The science of combining two fluids, or fluid solutions, under controlled conditions includes the art of injecting one fluid, a minor, smaller volume fluid, into a second fluid, a major, or higher volume fluid. The purpose of such a combining of fluids under controlled conditions is usually an attempt to achieve an efficient combining or mixing of components to produce a desired end product.
The chosen controlled conditions under which the combining of fluid components is undertaken will normally depend upon factors which are thought to influence the mixing of the components, such as the manner of mixing, the temperature, the rate of mixing, the amount of heat generated by the mixing, the viscosity and miscibility of the components, and the efficiency of the mixing operation.
The art of injecting a first fluid into a second fluid has been practiced in many ways and for many purposes, as I have had to discover during the development of my own fluid injection system.
In mixing two fluid systems, the accomplishment most sought after is the achievement of an efficient system, a final, thorough mixing of the ingredients in a minimum time with a minimum consumption of energy.
For example, two light molecular weight, non-reacting gaseous components will mix to form a homogeneous product much more readily than will two heavy, viscous liquids.
Within these two extremes, I have been interested in developing a system and equipment for efficiently mixing a minor fluid into a major fluid to prepare a homogeneous mixture.
I have found in the prior art the following U.S. patents for various types of systems for injecting a first fluid into a second fluid:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. 3,109,452 Hicks, Jr. Nov. 5, 1963 U.S. Pat. No. 3,187,769 McDowell et al June 8, 1965 U.S. Pat. No. 3,200,840 Watts Aug. 17, 1965 U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,274 Riley Dec. 4, 1973 U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,434 Rasmussen et al Apr. 30, 1974 ______________________________________
U.S. Pat. No. 3,109,452 to Hicks, Jr., describes a chemical injector for injecting an emulsion breaker into an oil well fluid. A tank connected to the flow line of the well collects gas from the flow line and is connected to the upper compartment of a piston chamber adjacent the tank, and provides pressure to drive a piston within the chamber downwardly to force emulsion breaker collected below the piston into the flow line and subsequently into the oil and water settling tank with which the flow line is connected.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,187,769 to McDowell et al describes an apparatus connected to a dishwashing machine for controllably injecting a small amount of chemical fluid into the rinse water of a dishwashing machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,200,840 to Watts describes a device for injecting a chemical fluid into a feed line from a boiler pump. The device comprises a system of three axially aligned pistons connected between the home water supply and the boiler feed line and is operated by the changes in pressure between the two water supply lines.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,274 to Riley describes an apparatus for injecting a chemical fluid into a liquid flowing through a pipe from a container. Tubing connected between the chemical supply container and the flow line provide a pressure differential for withdrawing chemical fluid at adjustable rates from the container and injecting into the flow line.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,434 to Rasmassen et al describes an automatic feeder for injecting a fluid containing a chemical additive into a flow stream. The apparatus includes a reservoir for a chemical additive connected between an upstream inlet of the flow stream and a downstream Venturi in the flow stream. The pressure differential in the flow stream developed by the Venturi causes a portion of the flow stream to pass through the reservoir to mix with and move chemical additive from the reservoir into the flow stream. The apparatus is particularly adapted to be connected to a filter system of a swimming pool.